Through the Rabbit Hole and Straight On to Neverland
by CaptainPuckleberrySwan
Summary: When Emma and Hook went up the beanstalk together, E devised a plan to return alone. But before E could cuff H to the wall, someone activated a portal sending E and the compass to Neverland. H followed, intending to bring E back to FTL. The only problem? Once you step foot in Neverland, you can never leave. And with Cora on the loose in FTL, things are certainly looking bleak.
1. Through the Rabbit Hole

**AN: This is my first published fanfic, so I could really use any and all feedback that you can give me. So please let me know what I need to work on, and if applicable, what I did well so I can improve my writing for the upcoming chapters :D Sorry this first chapter is also relatively short. I guess it's more of a prologue than a full chapter... And last but not least, I obviously don't own OUAT or any of the show's characters. Enjoy :)**

Emma pushed through the debris, a mixture of fallen rocks and random objects that had collapsed when Anton first came thundering through the, for lack of a better term, castle. Hook was still alive here somewhere, she knew it and sure enough, pushing a particularly large chunk of ceiling out of the way, Emma heard the reassuring sound of Hook scrambling to emerge from the rubble.

"You," he gasped, catching his breath as the first genuine smile Emma had ever seen on Hook spread across his face, "are bloody brilliant. Amazing. May I see it? The compass."

Emma stared at his extended hand, her own hesitantly grabbing the cool metal in her jacket pocket and holding it just out of Hook's reach. Her eyes never left the compass as he examined it, remarking on its beauty. She knew she couldn't trust him. She couldn't trust him with the compass, she couldn't trust him with Snow's life and she sure as hell couldn't trust him with her one chance at getting back to Henry. And that was why she had to do this; she was doing this for Henry, for Snow and for herself. She just couldn't afford to take a chance on him. Sure, she felt bad about betraying Hook like this, but it had to be done. Emma had learned long ago that sometimes, she had to do the wrong thing if she wanted to survive.

And so, with a shake of her head and mere reminder that, oh yeah, this guy was a _pirate_, every shred of doubt Emma had over Hook's true allegiance vanished. Quickly pocketing the compass and slowly backing away, the blonde swallowed her guilt and prepared to make her exit, the plan racing through her head as she eyed the shackle at Hook's feet.

"Come. Let's go," Hook said, indicating that they should get a move on.

But just as Emma was about to reach for the hand cuff, her attention was caught by a flash of purple light just behind her. Taken by surprise, she moved to turn around and in the process, took a step back. A rush of color, the sound of Hook's voice screaming her name, the feeling of being shrunken and sucked into a miniscule pipe, and a moment later, she was gone.

"Swan! No!" Hook knew exactly what had just happened and he knew he had exactly two options to choose from with a limited amount of time to make the choice: leave Emma and find another way to Storybrooke or follow the girl through the portal. Of course, his self-preservation instincts were screaming at him to just walk away, but she had the compass. And if he thought Snow was about to let him just stroll on down the beanstalk _alone_ and walk away with a beating heart, then he was a bloody fool. Not to mention, Emma had trusted him to help her get back to her son, and for one reason or another, the idea of leaving her out to dry like that didn't sit well with him.

The portal was growing smaller and Hook was running out of time. He knew what he had to do. With one last, exasperated glance around the giant's lair, Hook concentrated on the portal in front of him. "Dammit, Emma." And he jumped.

**AN: I know a lot of what just happened may not make complete sense, especially how the portal was created. But I promise it will all be explained in the next chapter :) **


	2. And Straight On to Neverland

**AN:** **Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed/followed/favorited my story! This chapter is longer than the first and I hope you are all satisfied with how I had the portal created. As always, I am happy to hear any comments you might have regarding the plot, the characters or just my writing in general! Lastly, I don't own OUAT or any of its characters :)**

Cora watched patiently from her spot in the Enchanted Forest as the girl, Emma, struck a deal with the giant and Hook lay trapped beneath the rubble. Really, how naïve did Hook think she was? Did he actually believe that she, Cora, was going to rely on the loyalty of a pirate to complete a plan that was 28 years in the works? The fool. She hadn't trusted him for a second, which was why she had enchanted those wristbands with more than a simple spell to get the wearer up a beanstalk; as long as the leather was around their wrists, Cora could see and hear everything that was going on around Emma and Hook. But that wasn't all: Cora was also able to channel magic through the wristbands should she find it necessary.

Oh, but Hook was going to pay for his betrayal, despite the fact that his disloyalty did nothing to ruin her plot to get to Storybrooke. She'd given him a test, and he'd failed; there were going to be consequences. At first, Cora had thought the girl would do the smart thing and leave Hook in the giant's lair where Cora would gladly watch him die at the hands of the giant. But, she should have known that the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming would insist on playing the hero and getting Hook out of there alive. So, Cora was left to find another way of ensuring that Hook paid for his treachery.

Her eyes scanned the space around her two unsuspecting pawns, searching for something to inspire her. Of course, she could always deal with Hook herself when he came back down from the beanstalk, but that might involve a run-in with Emma and the princesses. Cora preferred to keep the four girls in the dark about her whereabouts for as long as possible, so dealing with Hook before he reached the ground again would be much more convenient.

And then she saw it. Lying a few feet away from Hook, blending in with the rest of the debris lay a top hat, the likes of which she had most definitely seen before. Why, it was one of the Hatter's old hats. She figured the giant must have acquired it at some point during his god-awful life and had kept it all these years, never quite knowing what the hat was capable of. Well, until now. All she needed was for either Emma or the pirate to touch the hat, and Cora would be able to enchant it to spin and open a portal that would take Hook to a land he could never leave. And she got her touch.

While pushing aside the rubble, Emma had unknowingly laid her hands on the hat, giving Cora the very opportunity she needed to create a portal. The girl had more magic in her than even Cora had anticipated, but this time, Emma's power would work to Cora's advantage: when combined with Cora's own magic, activating that portal was as easy as crushing a stolen heart. The hat spun, purple smoke began to fill the area, a portal opened, and Hook was trapped in Neverland. Unfortunately, the girl had fallen through first taking the compass with her, but she could handle that. It was only a very minor problem in a much greater plan.

However, the minute Emma and Hook had stepped through the portal, the connection between herself and the duo was broken, leaving Cora to stare at a haze of smoke before that too disappeared. She smiled wryly. Of course. The extra spells she had placed on the wristbands would be useless outside of Fairytale Land. But no matter. She was Cora- she was very rarely ever careless and she always had a Plan B. And in this case, her Plan B was standing right in front of her, in the form of three lost princesses who had suddenly found themselves back at square one in their futile quest to return Snow White to Storybrooke. Perhaps it was time to give some old friends a call.

* * *

Emma groaned as she propped herself up on her elbows and squinted around at her surroundings, trying to assess the situation. What had happened? One minute, she'd been preparing to chain Hook to the wall of a giant's fortress and the next, she was engulfed by a purple smoke that had brought her here. But how… Oh no…

"Jefferson."

"Sorry love, but I think that fall through the portal messed with your head. The name's Hook."

With a roll of her eyes, Emma elaborated. "Not you, the portal. It was created through one of Jefferson's hats. Someone must've activated it. Only question is, who?" Standing up, she quickly brushed off her jeans before giving Hook a quizzical look. "What're you doing here anyways?"

"Right, because a 'thank you Hook for coming with me' would be so damn difficult for Emma Swan to say. Well you're bloody welcome for following you down that blasted portal," Hook grunted as he stood up and met Emma's cautious gaze.

"You didn't have to come, I never asked you too," she countered, refusing to show any signs of gratitude towards Hook just yet. The last thing she needed was to add to his already large ego by implying that his help and company were something she wanted.

"What, would you have rather I didn't and just left you here alone?" Hook asked coolly.

"No."

"Then forgive me, but I fail to see what the problem is." Hook raised an eyebrow, waiting to see if she was going to say anything back. She didn't, but Hook could've sworn he saw something of a half-hearted smile cross her face before she resumed her examination of their current location. Following her lead, Hook finally took a look around himself, trying to figure out where "Jefferson's" hat had brought them. "Well, it doesn't really matter who sent us here. What matters is _where_ here is. And unfortunately, I know exactly where we are."

"Unfortunately?"

Taking Emma's raised eyebrow as his cue to continue, Hook gestured around him. "Welcome to Neverland, love."

"You've gotta be kidding me." Emma took another look around, not that it would do her much good. It wasn't like she would've been able to recognize Neverland if she were standing in it, which she apparently was.

Smiling sardonically at Emma's nonplussed look, Hook added, "Oh and it gets better."

"Well this should be good," Emma muttered, crossing her arms across her chest.

Hook sighed, knowing she wasn't going to like this next bit. He spoke slowly, watching Emma carefully with each word, "There's a reason this place is called Neverland. It's because you can never leave this land."

"Never leave? What do you mean, _never leave_?" she asked warily. It was taking everything she had to stay cool and not to go into hysterics in front of Hook. They couldn't _never leave_. She _had_ to leave, she had to get back Henry. She couldn't be stuck in Neverland for all eternity. This must be a mistake.

"I mean once you step foot in Neverland, you're stuck here. Forever." All traces of humor were gone from Hook's eyes as he watched all the color drain from Emma's face. Putting himself in her shoes, he thought he had some idea of what was going on in her mind. This boy, Henry, was her everything. He was the number one person in her life, and as he'd said earlier: she didn't want her son to be abandoned like she was. And now, he had just told her that she would never be able to get back to her son. This Henry was gone from her life forever, and she was gone from his- something he knew she couldn't accept yet. Honestly, he was surprised at how calm she looked given the situation, though he figured she must be searching wildly for a way out, a loophole or something that would make everything Hook had just told her untrue. And sure enough…

"Wait, but you left, didn't you? You were here for, what, 300 years, and you managed to get to the Enchanted Forest. So there must b-"

"I didn't actually step foot in Neverland. I may have stayed in this realm for three centuries, but in that time I never left my ship, and my ship never left that sea," Hook interrupted with an uncharacteristically soft tone to his voice, pointing to Emma's left where the faint outline of a seashore was just visible from where they stood. "So, I was free to leave whenever my little heart fancied."

Emma stood for a moment in perfect silence, her mind trying to absorb what Hook was telling her. No. This all had to be some sort of sick joke. She felt as though the ground had just been pulled from beneath her, leaving her to fall into a never-ending darkness. Her mouth was dry, her vision was starting to blur and she was sick to her stomach. She'd literally just lost everything, all because of one misstep. But she wasn't about to accept that. She _couldn't_ accept that fact. There had to be a way around this, she knew it and she was going to find that way or die trying.

"Well I'm not gonna let that happen. I'm finding a way out of here and I'm finding a way back to my son." Her eyes were fixed in a hard stare, as if she were challenging Hook to tell her otherwise.

Hook swallowed, not wanting to be _that guy_ who crushed every ounce of hope Emma had left in her. He feared that if he took away that last shred of optimism she was clinging to so tightly, she may very well reach her breaking point and God knew what would happen if she did. So instead, he said nothing and diverted his attention to the setting sun. "Come on. We've got to move and quickly before it gets dark."

Emma's brows furrowed in confusion. "Why is it so important to get out of here before dark?"

"Just trust me when I say that you don't want to be out here in the open after sunset. Lucky for you, I know a place where we can take shelter for the night. C'mon," he said gruffly, already walking towards the setting sun.

Emma ignored the nagging feeling in her stomach at the words "trust me". She really didn't have much of a choice but to trust him at this point; she was unfamiliar with this place and he obviously wasn't- it would be pretty moronic of her to ditch him now. And so, moving to catch up with Hook, the two of them began their trek through Neverland.

* * *

Mulan's lips were set in a grim line as the stick's shadow reached the 10 hour mark. Time was up, and she knew what she had to do. Like it or not, she had a duty to fulfill and Emma had been very clear on what she was to do if 10 hours had passed and the blonde had not returned from the giant's lair. The sooner she got this done, the better and the quicker she finished her task, the less time Snow would have to stop her. Pulling her sword from its hilt, Mulan crossed to the beanstalk, refusing to look at Snow White as she did.

"Whoa, wait! What are you doing?" Snow exclaimed, alarmed as she scrambled to get off the log and to Mulan before the Chinese warrior could do anything.

"Just stay back. Emma gave me ten hours." Mulan warned, pointing her sword at Snow before the woman could get any closer.

"No, no, no!" Snow White waved her hand wildly, her mind racing to think of a way to stop Mulan, knowing without a doubt what Mulan was going to do.

"What, you're just going to leave her there to die?" Aurora added, shocked at her companion.

"Ten hours. She may already be dead," was Mulan's simple reply. She didn't want to do it, but she had to. She had to block out her own personal feelings for the good and the safety of her team, just as she had been trained. Snow and Aurora's hearts were undoubtedly in the right place, but they didn't understand the importance of duty and they certainly did not understand just how important their two lives were. Emma may be dead, but Mulan would be damned if she let Snow and Aurora's blood be on her hands as well. She swung her sword at the beanstalk and watched as a surge of magic traveled up the stalk when the metal made contact with it.

"No!" came Snow's guttural cry as she charged at Mulan, tackling her to the ground before Mulan could strike at the beanstalk again.

Mulan struggled with Snow while Aurora watched helplessly. "This was your daughter's wish," she hissed at Snow before Snow flipped her onto her back.

"I don't care what you say. You do not put my daughter in danger!" Snow's forearm pushed against Mulan's throat, making her gasp for air as her hand delved into her black bag and searched desperately for something that would help her incapacitate Snow. Her hand wrapped itself around a small bundle that Mulan yanked out of her bag, all but throwing the bundle's contents in Snow's face. Her last, small bit of ground poppy, used to knock out Snow.

Mulan flipped them over sothat she was hovering over Snow again, her hands now clutching Snow's wrists in a tight grip above the woman's head. "I have to do this," Mulan said through gritted teeth, her hands applying more pressure to Snow White's arms before she released them. Aurora rushed over to Snow, unable to do anything to stop Mulan as she resumed her striking at the beanstalk until it came tumbling down, shaking the ground when it finally fell.

* * *

Aside from the occasional teasing remark from Hook and her own biting retort, Emma and Hook were keeping the talking to a minimum, opting instead to conserve their energy as they practically jogged to Hook's designated "safehouse". She supposed she was grateful for the oddly comfortable silence between them as it gave her time to think over the events that had unfolded these past few hours. She still refused to accept that she was never getting back home, but she had at least come to terms with the fact that she had a long road ahead of her between Neverland and Storybrooke. She had also reluctantly acknowledged that between now and her return to Storybrooke, whether she trusted him or not, she needed Hook and Hook was pretty much all she had. Well, him and the golden compass.

Her eyes focused on the ominously pink sky, Emma couldn't help but wonder how much further they had to go until they got there, and with that thought came the realization that she didn't even know where "there" was.

"So, where exactly are we in such a hurry to get to?" Emma asked between breaths, breaking the silence.

"We, darling, are going to see the Indians," Hook stated matter-of-factly, pushing past a few branches and casting a look behind him to see how Emma was holding up.

"Seriously?" she replied skeptically.

"Completely." Hook answered simply before he elaborated. "Their camp is the closest place I could think of where we could spend the night. Not a very friendly bunch, but we're better off staying with them than we are out here."

About a million questions were rushing through Emma's head at Hook's response. What were the Indians like? What did he mean by "not friendly"? And why was it so fucking important to get to the Indians before dark? But it was her next question whose answer interested her the most.

"Wait. If you never stepped foot in Neverland before, then how do you know where the… Indians live?"

"Oh I have my… connections," Hook replied vaguely, a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. He knew perfectly well just how much his ambiguous answer was infuriating her.

"Your connections?" she asked dubiously, that stupid smirk of his only causing her annoyance to rise.

"Yeah, well you'd be surprised at how many connections you can make in just 300 years here."

God that smug look on his face was irritating. Emma wasn't sure if she wanted to tell him off or hit him. Probably both. "Look bud-" she started before Hook cut her off with a small "shh", his arm popping out to stop Emma in his tracks. After a couple seconds of dead silence, Emma opened her mouth, about to ask Hook what the hell he was so spooked about when she heard it too- a slight rustle in the trees around them. It may have just been an animal, but Emma's gut instinct (and Hook's cautious manner) was telling her differently. While she'd lost her gun fighting the ogre in the Enchanted Forest, Emma still had a dagger in her left boot. She was preparing to grab it when a dozen men suddenly jumped out of the trees. Two of the men snatched Emma and Hook, pinning their arms behind their backs in a tight grip while the others quickly formed a circle around their prisoners, pointing their weapons at Emma and Hook's necks.

"And these would be the Indians," Hook muttered.


	3. Indian Village

**AN: I'm sorry this chapter took me so long to post! I was having a hard time writing the beginning, but once I got to the dialogue (specifically the story in the middle), it all came out much easier. Once again, thank you so so much to everyone who has reviewed/favorited/followed my story. You have no idea how much it means to me to read your feedback or just to see that you're interested in what I'm writing :) Also I obviously don't own OUAT or any of its characters. **

It was official. She, Emma Swan, had the shittiest karma known to man. How else was she supposed to explain how horribly WRONG her life had become in the past 24 hours? It was as if the universe had just now realized what a terrible person she was and had decided that today would be the day she finally paid for all her crimes (as if those 11 months in prison hadn't done the trick). First she was almost killed by a giant, then she was sent to the one place in the world she supposedly could never leave: Neverland, and now she had just been kidnapped. By Indians. With nobody but Captain Hook as an ally. If you had told Emma a year ago that this is where she would be in 365 days time, she would have told you that you were either dangerously high or dangerously insane before proceeding to kick your ass and sending you to a psych to be evaluated. Damn, her life had become screwed up.

And damn, these guys sure knew how to tie a knot. Hook's hook had been removed by the Indians, so he wasn't much help, but while her captors practically dragged her to the Indian Camp that she and Hook had (ironically) been searching for, Emma was inconspicuously trying to undo the knot in the rope binding her hands together, but to no avail. The knot remained as strong as ever, the twine digging into the skin around Emma's wrist as she continued to quietly struggle with her bonds.

"That's not going to do you any good, darling," Hook muttered to her, glancing quickly at the blonde beside him before staring straight ahead again. He knew she was trying to loosen the rope because a) she's Emma and b) her elbow kept nudging him in the arm every time she tried to undo the knot and he was pretty sure she had left a bruise by now, but as he'd said, her attempts weren't going to get her anywhere. The Indians knew what they were doing when they'd bound Emma and himself, so the only way the two of them were going to be released was if the Indians wanted them to be released. Besides, the Indians were taking them to the very place he and Emma wanted to go- the Indian Camp. So even if Emma managed to do it, breaking free from the Indians would be pointless.

But all his words had gotten him was a reproachful glare from Emma and an extremely hard whack in the arm from her elbow.

Hook swore quietly. "Was that really necessary?"

"Well you did get us abducted by Indians," Emma pointed out in a voice barely above a whisper. "You know, you could at least _try_ to escape."

"Why bother when they're taking us exactly where we want to go?" Hook countered.

"Well, I don't about you, but I prefer to walk to my destinations, not be dragged there with my hands tied behind my back and spears pointed at my neck," she retorted.

"Fair enough, princess."

"Don't call me 'princess'," she bit back, looking at Hook like he was crazy.

"Well you _are_ a princess, love. Your mother is Snow White and your father is Prince Charming. Which makes you, m'dear, a princess."

Emma huffed in annoyance. He was right- technically, she was a princess. She'd just never thought of it like that before, and honestly, she didn't really like the idea of her being a princess. She wasn't exactly princess material and the mere image of herself dolled up in some elaborate ball gown and dancing in a palace ballroom made her grimace in actual pain. Who did he think he was, calling her a princess? If she weren't tied up right now, she would have grabbed his sword and kicked him to the ground with the sword pointed at his throat just to prove to him that she _wasn't_ a princess (and teach him to never call her that again). But in her current state, she could do nothing but glare ahead as she imagined all the things she would like to do to her travel companion.

"Ah look, we're here," Hook announced, that smug, annoying-as-hell expression on his face that Emma was quickly becoming used to.

And sure enough, they were currently standing before a clearing containing a giant horseshoe of teepees with many people and some small fires scattered among the inside of the horseshoe. There were other teepees situated outside of the horseshoe, some with animal meat hanging outside and others with clothing strung out to dry in the sun, which was now barely visible over the horizon. Emma felt the eyes of many curious onlookers following them as the troop of Indian captors led her and Hook to the center of the small village where a larger fire burned and a man, who Emma supposed was the chief of the tribe, stood towering over them all. His face was set in a stern, emotionless expression that Emma couldn't help but feel a little intimidated by. The chief's eyes bored into her own, but Emma refused to break eye contact with the powerful leader, forcing him to look away first and at Hook instead.

When the chief's eyes landed on Hook, Emma noticed the man's eyebrows furrow ever so slightly before he turned to one of the men who had brought Emma and Hook to the camp and silently motioned for him to step forward. The man did as his superior asked, moving to stand beside the chief and whispering into the chief's ear. With a small nod, the chief sent the man back to his position beside Emma and questioned in a low, strong voice, "I am told that you were found wandering our lands just before sundown- a very unwise move. What business do you have here, roaming Indian territory seemingly unarmed and unprotected?"

"We were trying to reach your camp before sundown. You see, we just arrived here in Neverland this afternoon and needed a place to take shelter for the night, so we had hoped you would be so kind as to allow us to stay here," Hook answered in a steady tone. "We will gladly repay you in any way we can for your hospitality and will be out of your village by noon," he promised.

The chief gazed carefully at Hook, taking in his words and sizing up his captive. After a few moments of tense silence, the chief ordered, "Release him. I want to have a word with the one-handed man."

Emma watched curiously as the Indian chief took Hook aside and the two began conversing in urgent whispers. The chief's expression remained as hard and as serious as ever while Hook explained himself, but when the chief gave a short nod and proceeded to lead Hook back to Emma and the tribe, Emma decided to take the fact that Hook was still walking and breathing as a good sign. She couldn't believe it. He'd actually managed to charm the Indian chief. She hated to admit it, but damn that guy was good.

"What'd you say to him?" Emma muttered into Hook's ear once he'd returned to his spot next to her.

"Nothing really. He just needed convincing that we were on his side."

"And what side would that be?"

"Against the Lost Boys." At Emma's questioning look, Hook added, "I'll explain later."

"I will grant you your request to take shelter in my village for the night. Anakausuen will show you where you can stay. Should there be any problems, he should be able to help." With that, the Indian chief walked away, leaving Emma and Hook alone with their captors. One of them cut loose Emma's bonds while another returned Hook's hook to him before they too left, following their leader into the tent at the center of the horseshoe of teepees. Only one of the Indians remained, and Emma presumed this was Anakausuen.

Anakausuen brought Emma and Hook to one of the teepees to their left, pushing aside the animal skin that covered the entrance to the teepee and waiting for Emma and Hook to walk inside. Once they had, Anakausuen gave them an "If you need me, I am two houses to your left," before he left as well.

The moment they were alone together, Emma rounded on Hook. "Alright, so do you want to explain to me what the hell this is all about?"

"This, darling, is called 'Indian hospitality'," Hook remarked, seating himself down upon one of the animal pelts on the floor and lying flat across it with his arms crossed behind his head and the heel of one boot resting on the top of the other. After a moment of silence, Hook caught Emma's raised eyebrow and expectant, "I'm not taking any shit from you" stare, and sighed before sitting up once again. With a mocking smile, he said, "C'mon darling, take a seat. I swear I won't bite." At her hesitant expression, Hook added, "Pirate's honor," with a wink.

Rolling her eyes and grumbling something about "Pirate's honor, my ass," Emma relented and took a seat beside Killian. "Now, what does our lost princess want to know about Neverland," Hook mused, relaxing once again with a smirk; he knew the "princess" thing pissed her off, but he honestly thought it was funny. Most people he knew would be thrilled to discover that they were royalty, but not Emma Swan. No, Emma looked like she'd love nothing more than to hit anyone who dared to call her a princess.

"Well, as I'm sure you've gathered by now, one thing you do not want to be is lost and alone in Neverland at night. Which brings me to the second thing you're probably curious about: the Lost Boys. I have no idea what you know or have heard about them, but whatever you do, don't trust them and avoid them at all costs," Hook began in a more serious tone.

"I thought the Lost Boys were supposed to be the good guys."

"Well if you consider kidnap, torture, terrorization and murder to be the acts of a hero, then sure, hero material right there. Point is, the Lost Boys are dangerous. But they're nothing compared to the… thing that leads them. The shadow."

"What do you mean, 'the shadow'? Are you telling me that a shadow is the ringleader of a bunch of psychopathic boys?" Emma asked cautiously. How was a _shadow_ supposed to be in control of anything, let alone the Lost Boys? And what made the shadow so threatening?

"It's a bit more complicated than that. You see, once upon a time, the shadow used to belong to somebody- a boy named Peter. He was the original Lost Boy, and he'd found himself here in Neverland as a child, all alone. As the story goes, the young lad was an orphan of sorts. He had nobody, in this world or in yours, and he was lonely, so he wanted to bring other boys, other orphans like himself, here to Neverland as well. He figured they could all stay here forever, a gang of lonely misfits, a group of fellow lost boys, left to enjoy adventures together in Neverland for all eternity. In that way, he would never have to be alone again, and neither would they. They would always have each other. The only problem was, as time went on, Peter found himself growing tired of being eternally 10 years old. That's the thing, Neverland was originally called Neverland, not because you could never leave it, but because you never grew old. Some people would see that as a blessing, but others – Peter- came to see it as a curse. So he wanted out. He wanted to go back to the real world with his new band of brothers and grow up. Maybe meet a fine lady like yourself and settle down, grow old with his friends, and then die. But the other boys didn't want that. And neither did Neverland. So they fought him every step of the way. And thus, the true curse of Neverland was born: Neverland intended to trap Peter here, so it prevented him from leaving by denying anybody who set foot in Neverland the ability to leave.

"Nobody truly knows how he did it; most people say some sort of dark magic was involved. But in the end, Peter managed it: he escaped from Neverland. However, he didn't truly escape; not completely anyways. When Peter left, he suddenly aged to an 18 year old man and had to leave behind his childhood self. That little boy in him was ripped from his body, to remain here with his lonely bunch of Lost Boys in Neverland forever. The light pieces of his boyhood – his innocence, his happiness, his faith, his trust and his love – became embodied in a fairy, Tinkerbell, while the darker sides to his childhood – his pain, his loneliness, his sadness, and his hate towards a world full of people who had abandoned him – became embodied in his shadow; _the_ shadow. And the shadow has been searching for the little boy that had abandoned _it_ here ever since.

"The shadow has been kidnapping little boys from your world for centuries now, bringing them here in the hopes that one of the kids they've kidnapped is the long lost Peter Pan. But obviously, none of them are. Peter grew up; the shadow just doesn't know that. And while the shadow has been searching for its body and taking boys from other lands, the Lost Boys have been terrorizing this land by night, searching for Peter – most likely to punish him for deserting them- , certain that one day he will return to Neverland to reunite with his brothers. When night falls, you can hear the cries of all the little boys the shadow has taken here to Neverland, and a sound like that never leaves you. 300 years here, and not once in my 28 years out of Neverland has the sound ceased to haunt me in my nightmares."

Emma sat in stunned silence as Killian finished his story. Never in her wildest dreams had she ever imagined that _this_ was the true tale of Peter Pan. Disney had gotten it wrong. Big time.

"I never knew," she whispered, more to herself than to Hook, as she shook her head in disbelief.

"Well, now you do. And now you know why it was so damn important for us to find a shelter before sundown. If the Lost Boys had found you, a new-comer to this land, they would have taken you prisoner and tortured you for information you don't even have on the whereabouts of Peter Pan. Or worse, they would have taken one of us to be the shadow's next body."

Emma remained silent for a second before another thought dawned on her. "So there is a way then?"

"A way for what?"

"A way to escape Neverland. Peter did it. I mean, yeah, it came with a pretty heavy price, but there is a way. It exists. And maybe there might be another way- a better way. One that won't involve us losing a piece of ourselves to Neverland in the process."

"Maybe. But if there is, nobody knows it." He paused before adding, "I'll help you search for it though and get you back to your son. I mean, it's not like I've got anything better to do and after that story, ensuring that the world has one less 'lost boy' in it sounds like a pretty damn good idea to me."

Emma gave Hook a small smile of gratitude (and slight surprise) at his offer before turning away from Hook. They continued to sit there, quiet and still, both consumed in their own thoughts. Emma was still having trouble wrapping her mind around all of this new information she'd been bombarded with. The whole thing was kind of tragic. Peter was afraid of being alone, so he created a family of his own here; being alone all her life, Emma could certainly understand why the kid had wanted to do that. Then when he'd had enough, he tried to leave with his friends, but he'd been met with resistance, and when he finally did manage to get out, he lost a bit of himself to Neverland, leaving behind a monster in the form of The Shadow and a group of hurt, vengeful boys.

"I'm going to see if I can scrounge up any food to eat. I don't know about you, but I'm starving," Hook announced distractedly, pushing himself up and walking to the end of the teepee. "I'll be back in a bit."

Nodding at Hook, Emma watched him go before lying down herself. She was exhausted, and hungry or not, right now, sleep sounded like the best thing in the world to her. She'd had a long day, and she knew tomorrow would be just as tiresome on her body. Her eyes slowly closed and she'd almost drifted off into slumber when Hook came bursting back into the teepee, empty handed but breathing heavily with a panicked look on his face. Something was wrong.

"We have to get out of here. Now."

"But I thought we were supposed to be safe here," Emma replied, flustered, but straightening up nonetheless.

"Yeah, well I was wrong. I just overheard them talking. Turns out the Indians sold us out to the Lost Boys in an attempt to get in The Shadow's good graces," Hook explained, looking outside of their teepee to ensure that the coast was clear before he grabbed Emma's hand and pulled her out of the make-shift home and into the dark. Looking around cautiously, Emma saw the outline of a group of people walking towards their teepee. Catching Hook's eye, she saw him motion towards the trees just beyond the little Indian village. Nodding her understanding, the two hurried towards the woods, Hook still clutching her hand as if to ensure that she was still behind him. No sooner had they reached the edge of the forest did Emma hear the sound of angry voices coming from the camp they'd just left behind. She saw torches being lit as the village came to life again, the unfamiliar group of boys who had approached their tent (probably the Lost Boys) furiously questioning the villagers about the two travelers who had just disappeared from right under their noses.

"C'mon, the further away we get from here the better," Hook said gruffly, dropping Emma's hand as he pushed through the trees and further into the woods.

For a brief moment, Emma looked down at her hand, feeling strangely... empty without Hook's hand in hers. The feeling confused her, but she didn't want to dwell on it. So a second later, she shook it off, following Killian Jones, the pirate who had just saved her life, deeper into the night.


End file.
